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Home » Food and Recipes » Beefy Enchilada Stuffed Bell Peppers

Beefy Enchilada Stuffed Bell Peppers

April 27, 2023 by Chef Alli Leave a Comment

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Low-carb Beefy Enchilada Stuffed Bell Peppers are flavorful and satisfying, a quick and healthy gluten-free meal. Sweet bell peppers are stuffed with a flavorful filling made with ground beef, quinoa, enchilada sauce and taco seasoning, then sprinkled with cheese as they bake. Serve garnished with lots of the creamy Chipotle Crema!


BEEFY ENCHILADA STUFFED BELL PEPPERS RECIPE 

Warm stuffed bell peppers on a white plate.

If you follow this blog, you already know that I’ve got a lot of Mexican and Tex Mex inspired recipes here.  To say that my family is Mexican food crazy is an understatement. We love easy, flavorful Mexican food!! 

Bubble Up Taco Casserole is a brand new recipe that I just posted, and so is Taco Chicken Rice Casserole….both are delicious 9×13 Mexican casseroles made from simple on-hand ingredients. 

I hope you’ll give Sizzle Steak Sheet Pan Nachos a try soon and please don’t overlook Instant Pot Ground Meat Nacho Dip if you’ve got a gathering coming up soon. 

WHAT TO LOVE 

  1. You can use any type of ground meat as a substitute for the ground beef in these peppers. I’ve used ground venison and it tastes great with the Mexican flavors of this recipe. 
  2. This is a completely gluten-free and low carb meal that is very flavorful. 
  3. You can have this meal on the table in under an hour, start to finish. 

INGREDIENTS NEEDED 

Stuffed Peppers 

  • Lean ground beef 
  • Your favorite taco seasoning
  • Red enchilada sauce
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Corn
  • Black beans
  • Green chilies
  • Quinoa
  • Bell peppers
  • Shredded cheddar cheese or Colby jack cheese

Chipotle Crema 

  • Ranch dressing
  • Mayonnaise
  • Minced chipotle or chipotle sauce 

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING BEEFY ENCHILADA STUFFED BELL PEPPERS WITH QUINOA 

**PRINT THE FULL RECIPE FROM THE RECIPE CARD AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In skillet over medium high heat, cook and crumble the ground beef with the taco seasoning until the beef is fully cooked throughout and no pink remains; drain any fats that accumulate.
 
Ground beef, corn, black beans, and quinoa in a skillet.
 
Stir in the enchilada sauce, vinegar, corn, black beans, green chilies, and cooked quinoa.
 
 
The beef and quinoa filling for making stuffed enchilada bell peppers.
 
 
 
Place the bell pepper halves into a greased 9×13 baking pan.  Using a cookie dough scoop, fill each bell pepper half with as much of the prepared enchilada filling as it can hold, mounding it up slightly.  Place the pan of peppers into the oven, uncovered, on the center oven rack.
Bell pepper halves ready for the beef enchilada stuffing to be added.
Bell peppers loaded with beef enchilada filling, ready for the oven.

 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bell peppers reach the desired tenderness and the filling is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese during the last 10 minutes of the baking time.

Stuffed enchilada peppers topped with shredded cheese.

 

Serve the stuffed bell peppers warm, topped with Chipotle Crema, as desired. 

Beefy Enchilada Stuffed Bell Pepper garnished with chipotle crema on top.

 

ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT THIS RECIPE

WHICH TOOLS ARE HELPFUL FOR MAKING STUFFED BELL PEPPERS?

Use a good, heavy-duty skillet for browning the ground meat. I love my Lodge 12-inch cast iron skillet and use it constantly.

For cutting the vegetables, I always want my 8-inch chef’s knife in my hand and a large wooden cutting board.

You can use a metal 9×13 baking pan, but I truly prefer a glass 9×13 baking dish. Ceramic 9×13 baking dishes are a good bet, also.

Use an instant-read meat thermometer to test the filling in the peppers for doneness towards the end of the baking time. It should be 160-165 degrees F. at the center to be hot throughout and safe to eat.

Silicone Spatula Spoons – Of all the tools in my kitchen, silicone spatula spoons are what I use the most. They make stirring and sautéing a breeze and I love all the pretty silicone colors available. Silicone spatula spoons are completely heat-proof so they won’t melt, even when used over high temperatures. I like to have different sizes on hand for different kitchen tasks – soooo handy!

WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE FILLING I HAVE LEFTOVER AFTER STUFFING THE PEPPERS?

The leftover over filling makes a fantastic dip.  Serve it warm with tortilla chips. Or, make wraps with the leftover filling using flour tortillas – yummy!! 

HOW CAN I STRETCH THE GROUND BEEF FILLING TO MAKE MORE?

Such a great question.  I like to make this filling go further by adding more cooked quinoa to the mix.  I often double the amount of quinoa and then add more red enchilada sauce (as needed) or even a can of tomato sauce.  This way, the filling is still flavorful and saucy and the added quinoa stretches my food dollars so I can keep more bellies full and happy. 

WHY ARE THE BELL PEPPERS CUT IN HALF LENGTHWISE?

The reason for this is actually two-fold.  First, bell peppers cut in half lengthwise are more stable in the pan and won’t tip over as easily.  Secondly, since the ground beef filling is more spread out in a horizontal bed (the pepper), it cooks more quickly! 

CAN YOU FREEZE STUFFED BELL PEPPERS?

You sure can.  The texture of the bell pepper is slightly different, but still delicious.  I bake my stuffed bell peppers from frozen, reducing the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. half way through the baking time, adding 10-15 minutes to the cooking time or until filling is good and hot throughout (160-165 degrees F.) 

WHAT IS QUINOA?

Quinoa is a gluten-free grain.  It is packed with nutrients like zinc, protein, and fiber, as well as antioxidants. Quinoa is super quick to prepare (just a couple minutes in the Instant Pot) and is easily stirred into soups, casseroles, fillings, and salads to boost the nutrition. 

WHAT IS CHIPOTLE CREMA?

Chipotle crema is a cool, creamy topping for the stuffed bell peppers that makes them extra delicious! A chipotle is a smoked jalapeno so be careful as minced chipotles are quite smoky and hot – a little goes a long ways. 

TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS FOR MAKING THIS EASY GROUND BEEF RECIPE – 

  • You can substitute any type of ground meat in place of the ground beef, such as ground chicken or turkey, ground bison, or my personal favorite (because my guys are hunters) – ground venison. 
  • Substitute green enchilada sauce in place of red enchilada sauce to make the filling a little more on the mild side. 
  • If your fam isn’t crazy for black beans, you can easily substitute chili beans or pinto beans – still super delicious.
  • You can substitute any type of grain for the quinoa if you prefer, such as white rice, brown rice, pearled sorghum, farro, or barley. 
  • If you garnish with sharp cheddar cheese instead of mild cheddar cheese, you can use less and still get that great “cheesy” flavor. 

Beef Enchilada Stuffed Bell Peppers in a 9x13 baking dish.

MORE FAVORITE MEXICAN FOOD RECIPES TO ENJOY 

  • LOW-CARB CRUSTLESS TACO PIE
  • AIR FRYER FREESTYLE MEXICAN PIZZAS
  • MEXICAN CHEESE BREAD 
  • INSTANT POT MEXICAN STREET CORN WITH PARMESAN 

PRINTABLE BEEFY ENCHILADA STUFFED BELL PEPPERS RECIPE 

A bell pepper stuffed with enchilada beef filling.

Beefy Enchilada Stuffed Bell Peppers

Low-carb Beefy Enchilada Stuffed Bell Peppers are flavorful and satisfying, a quick and healthy gluten-free meal. Sweet bell peppers are stuffed with a flavorful filling made with ground beef, quinoa, enchilada sauce and taco seasoning, then sprinkled with cheese as they bake. Garnish with salsa, sour cream, and cilantro, as desired.
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 334kcal
Author: Chef Alli

Ingredients

Beefy Enchilada Bell Peppers

  • 1/2 lb. lean ground beef any ground meat will work great, such as ground turkey, venison, bison etc
  • 1 Tbs. of your favorite taco seasoning
  • 10 oz. can red enchilada sauce
  • 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup sweet corn canned or frozen
  • 1 cup black beans drained and rinsed
  • 4 oz. can diced fire-roasted green chilies
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 4 sweet bell peppers, any color cut in half lengthwise, seeds and membranes removed
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • Your favorite Mexican food garnishments, such as sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cilantro, etc.

Chipotle Crema

  • 1/2 cup ranch dressing
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2-3 tsp. minced chipotles or chipotle sauce or more, depending on how spicy you prefer

Instructions

Prepare the Stuffed Bell Peppers

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
    In skillet over medium high heat, cook and crumble the ground beef with the taco seasoning until the beef is fully cooked throughout and no pink remains; drain any fats that accumulate.
  • Stir in the enchilada sauce, vinegar, corn, black beans, green chilies, and cooked quinoa.
  • Place the bell pepper halves into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Using a cookie dough scoop, fill each bell pepper half with as much of the prepared enchilada filling as it can hold, mounding it up slightly. **Note: You will likely have some leftover filling. This makes a fantastic dip to serve with tortilla chips, fyi.
  • Place the pan of peppers into the oven, uncovered, on the center oven rack.
    Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bell peppers reach the desired tenderness and the filling is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese during the last 10 minutes of the baking time.
    Garnish as desired with the Chipotle Crema and serve.

Prepare the Chipotle Crema

  • In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients until smooth; refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes

www.ChefAlli.com 
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: easy dinner recipe, easy weeknight meal, low carb Mexican, quinoa

Nutrition

Calories: 334kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 898mg | Potassium: 733mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 4454IU | Vitamin C: 158mg | Calcium: 133mg | Iron: 4mg
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CHEF ALLI

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Filed Under: Food and Recipes, Main Dishes Tagged With: Mexican, skillet meal, Tex Mex

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